Can a person add to much pine straw?

[taxidermy lady]

I have been adding my soft pine needles to my gourds. On the excluder gourds there is a line on the gourd where the level of pre-nesting material is to be! It seems like a lot. I put 5 hands full in it to get it to that level. I formed the nest bowl in the back. What do you think? Don't want to over add! Thanks

[John Miller]

I've told people the line is so martins know when they have added enough -- some of my jokes folks laugh, but this one I just get a funny look.

Anyway, yes, one can add too much, depending on the type of material. Too many cedar shavings in a deep gourd and eggs might get buried. With pine straw, I put a generous handful or two and try to first swirl it around then really take a minute and press it down so it's compacted a little.

John

[taxidermy lady]

Ok thanks John, I thought that seemed like a lot of nesting. Heck and I thought that line was for us! I like your jokes!!

[Ron Alsop]

I've had discussion with the gentleman who first invented the excluder gourd and entrances. He says he put the line on there to aid in filling it. He further reminded me that he typically uses pine straw, BUT it should be "white pine" with the very long, soft needles.

[taxidermy lady]

Thanks Ron, I do use soft pine needles. So the excluder guy says fill it to the line? It takes a lot to get up to that line! Maybe I will fill one up to line and leave the other with just a few hands full! I see what they like!!, Thanks

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Some gourds require less than others. A deep gourd like the supergourd may require more, and care should be taken so that its padded down to where it is rather firm

The shallow S&K Bo9 gourd, for instance, has the entrance near the bottom of the gourd. It of course, does not require very much pine straw

[taxidermy lady]

Ok thanks Emil, will do my best because I have 6 different kinds of gourds!

[Carolyn C]

Oh no! I just realized that my pine needles are not that soft.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Carolyn, our pine needles are NOT soft but the martins love to use them. I wonder if the soft idea is only a human idea? Our martins sure do not care.

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

Emil,
If you are referring to the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), then my martins have no objections to their pine needles. The point of the needles are sharp.
The female martins can arrange those needles into a bowl which looks like a work of art. I sure cannot duplicate their work.

Around here, loblolly pines were used for landscaping. People are usually glad for me to rake up some of the needles from their yard. I personally do not like them for landscaping because the long pine needles hold freezing rain which weighs done the brittle limbs and strips the limbs off the tree trunk. Plus the southern pine bark beetle is devastating whole swaths of them.
Mark.

[taxidermy lady]

My pine needles are white pine. They are super soft not prickly at all.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Emil,
If you are referring to the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), then my martins have no objections to their pine needles. The point of the needles are sharp.
The female martins can arrange those needles into a bowl which looks like a work of art. I sure cannot duplicate their work.

Around here, loblolly pines were used for landscaping. People are usually glad for me to rake up some of the needles from their yard. I personally do not like them for landscaping because the long pine needles hold freezing rain which weighs done the brittle limbs and strips the limbs off the tree trunk. Plus the southern pine bark beetle is devastating whole swaths of them.
Mark.

Yes, I think that they are loblolly pine, they are so common in our area, I doubt if they some other kind, everybody seems to have them. People rake them up, they put them out for garbage, I get several pickup loads every year with no raking..Some people even help me load them so that they do not go to the garbage dump. I have limey soil, so pine trees do not grow on our property

[Carolyn C]

Carolyn, our pine needles are NOT soft but the martins love to use them. I wonder if the soft idea is only a human idea? Our martins sure do not care.

Thank you Emil. We don't have pine trees in our area of Georgetown, Tx. My sister brought them to me from Ft. Myers, Florida last year. I wonder what kind you get when you order online?

[MingjoMartins]

Before they were offered by the PMCA I ordered some "Pine Straw" online and hated it. It was long, very brittle, and cut my hands to pieces when I used it. I stick with the soft white pine needles and the birds love them. When I do nest checks, I use weeping willow leaves to replace green leaves. They are a breeze to strip from the low hanging weeping branches, and the birds love them.